Harry Potter: Last Son of Krypton
by dstrekharrylover
Summary: A Harry Potter/Superman crossover. In this fic, James and Lily Potter, unable to have children of their own, adopt a foundling child they discover in the forest near their Godric's Hollow home, soon discovering just how unique and special he really is.
1. Prologue

_**Harry Potter: Last Son of Krypton (HP/Superman crossover)**_

_**By hgseeker**_

_A/N: This is very AU in a lot of ways, but there are still sufficient similarities between the two characters, so I thought I would try to do a fic where Harry wasn't James and Lily's natural child; instead, he was adopted by them after being shot from exploding Krypton by his biological father, the great Kryptonian scientist (and yes, wizard too, in this case), Jor-El. In this case, his biological mother Lara was also a witch … and the name of the Galaxy he comes from is pure speculation._

_Young, married Aurors James and Lily Potter go for a walk in the woods near their Godric's Hollow home one autumn day in 1979 and find the child in the woods in a patch of deep grass a short distance from the broken-open miniature starship (which also turns out to be a birthing matrix) in which he was transported to Earth. __They even find a note from Harry's biological parents, imploring them to take in their child and raise him as if he were their own, and thereby hangs the tale. Of course, he is raised as their natural child; it is purely by accident that they discover his wizard powers since they are not mentioned in the hastily written note. But this is only the first of many strange discoveries James and Lily will discover about their new child in the course of their lives together._

**PROLOGUE: OCTOBER 1979**

It was a beautiful, warm day in the fall of 1979 in the small wizarding village of Godric's Hollow in the country of England on planet Earth, when a young married couple who desperately wanted a child but were seemingly unable to have one decided to take a walk in the woods near their home. Their names were James and Lily Potter—a wizard and witch respectively. Both were in their early twenties, age-wise, but their suffering the last six months after having already lost a child to miscarriage after three months' gestation had matured them greatly.

They had been trying mightily to conceive again but had had no success so far, even beginning to think that they weren't meant to have children. What was tragic was that both of them loved children and doted upon those whom they met; under happier circumstances, they would have made wonderful parents. But both wanted to exhaust all other options before going for their absolute last resort: adoption. Their minds, however, as well as their lives, were about to change drastically … and for the betterment of all concerned.

It was Lily with her frustrated mother's instinct who heard the soft cry not too far away from them, a short distance into the forest. But how could a child possibly be there? Had it been abandoned, or had something happened to the parents? She intended to find out. If it was the latter, well … As the old Muggle saying went, "Finders keepers, losers weepers." Being Muggle-born, it was natural for her to have heard it, and in this instance, decide to live by it, if it meant that she and James would have the child they longed for, naturally or not.

By this time, James had heard the saying as well, certain he was hearing things until he heard the persistent cry, like that of a newborn kneazle kit, a short distance away. He followed his wife toward the sound. Within ten minutes they discovered a half-melted crystalline object about three feet in diameter, the child a short distance away from it to their left, still wrapped in several colourful blankets … blue, yellow and red. James also spotted an intact green crystal about eighteen inches long next to his right foot and grabbed it, pocketing it even as Lily turned toward the squirming, crying bundle. (As it turned out, it was a good thing he did, but it would be years in the future before he would know this.)

"Oh, James, come look!" Lily exclaimed. He turned his head to find her with the child in her arms. "It's a baby boy!" He joined her a minute later, marveling at the perfection of the tiny face and the shock of black hair, along with the huge blue eyes. But he was most surprised when the baby reached for his nearest hand and latched onto his right index finger with a death grip, wailing loudly if he tried to extricate it. "He doesn't seem to want to let go," Lily observed with a knowing smile.

"So it would seem," James returned with a smile of his own, unable to help feeling a mixture of love and compassion for the lost child. "Unfortunately, I need my finger back." With that, he reluctantly (and with considerable difficulty) extricated his finger, prompting another loud wail from the child. "Sorry, mate, but I need my finger." Privately, he couldn't help thinking that the child was extraordinarily strong for his age, but decided to keep it to himself for the time being.

Lily buried the child's face in her shoulder, rubbing his back and crooning soothing words to him. In a short time, the baby quieted and eventually fell asleep in her arms. When she shifted him, they heard a rustle of paper from within the blankets. James carefully felt for it, finally extricating a single sheet, upon which was written the following in a hasty scrawl, but impeccable English:

_To Whomever Finds This Child…_

_My wife and I will soon die, and wish our child to live. If you are able, please take him and raise him as your own. Otherwise, please take him to the proper authorities in your area and see that he is placed in the best home possible. Thank you in advance._

_Jor-El  
__Elder, Krypton Council and Scientist  
__Planet Krypton  
__Kennesaurus Galaxy_

James and Lily looked at each other incredulously. "Planet _Krypton_? Does that mean that this child is not of Earth?" she finally remarked, giving her husband a long, level look.

It was an incredible thought to them both, but even though both believed in life on other worlds, neither imagined they would ever be required to care for such life … and at least in this case, this life looked to be quite humanoid. Properly raised and disguised, the child could easily pass for their own.

"It must be, Lil. It would seem that our beliefs of extraterrestrial life have been confirmed. No ordinary child could survive the crash of any kind of transport, you know, and this plucky little bloke doesn't have a scratch on him. Probably the only thing wrong with him is that he's hungry and needs his nappy changed." A glint of sunlight bounced off the crystalline object nearby and James caught it out of the corner of his eye. "It might be a good idea to take this, too." He got out his wand and pointed it at the object. "_Locomotor_ crystal object." It rose in the air; he carried it back to their home a short distance in front of him while the child slept contentedly in Lily's arms. Upon arrival, they carefully hid the crystalline object in their attic under an Invisibility Charm for the time being.

It was fortunate that they had not gone beyond the wards in the forest, which extended for a mile in each direction around their home for maximum safety. The child and what he had been transported in had lain a short distance within the boundary, which had enabled James and Lily to retrieve him, but knowing his wife as he did, James was certain that nothing would have stopped her from retrieving a child in need, even if it meant risking her life. Both of them were risking enough just being Aurors and being under the Fidelius Charm in order to keep Voldemort from finding them.

Now they had to make plans for this unexpected, but at the same time, most welcome addition to their lives. At the time, no one except Sirius and Remus, both Secret-Keepers, had seen them for months—almost a year, in fact—just a short time after they'd gotten married … so if they planned it carefully, they could make it seem as though the child were born to them naturally. He looked to be no more than six months old, but measurements of extraterrestrial ages could be considerably different from Earth measurements, so they really had no idea of his true age.

But no matter. What was most important was that they now had a child, even if he weren't theirs—at least not technically. However, if they played their cards right, everyone would think he was by the time they were finished. Lily had even decided that she would change the child's eye colour to match hers and his features slightly so that he resembled James as a child, which would make their story all the more credible. However, that was the most she could do with permanent Disguising Charms. But with luck, that would be all the alteration they needed. For now, they had to settle down in their new lives.


	2. Chapter 1: Parenthood

_**Chapter 1—Parenthood**_

_**July 31, 1980**_

"He's beautiful, Lil, Prongs. You must be very proud," a very happy—albeit surprised—Sirius Black, now a godfather, enthused as he held the newborn (as far as he knew, anyway) child and crooned to him. Remus stood beside him, every bit as surprised but happy upon learning that their closest friend was now a father. "But why didn't you tell us Lil had finally gotten pregnant?"

"We wanted it to be a surprise," James replied. "And guess what we're calling him. Harrison for Lil's father—but Harry for short—and James for me, in keeping with wizarding tradition."

James looked every inch the proud father, and in every way but one, he was. If he had his way, not even his closest friends would ever guess that Harry wasn't his natural child … not unless he decided to tell them one day. Lil had already changed Harry's eye colour and features just enough so that anyone looking at him and not knowing any better would believe that he and Lily were the boy's natural parents.

"Have you registered him at Hogwarts yet?" Remus asked, ever mindful of such things. "By the way, he's the image of you, Prongs, and he has Lil's eyes." _Probably her temper, too,_ the werewolf couldn't help thinking, but didn't voice it. Best not to spoil this happy moment.

James nodded and smiled in Remus's direction, acknowledging his comment but not responding to it. "He's just recently born, Moony. We need time to determine if he's got magical ability. Magical blood is no guarantee of magical ability, you know … otherwise, there wouldn't be any Squibs."

James had a point, so Remus couldn't argue. "But you do intend to register him as soon as you find out."

"Count on it," James assured him. "Now give me back my son, Padfoot. I've only held him for five minutes today." Sirius was reluctant but knew better than to refuse, knowing James's extensive knowledge of hexes and magical pranks. James automatically positioned his small son into his arms, and the boy fell asleep a short time later.

James leaned down to warmly kiss the child's forehead, then moved to place him in the nearby levitating cradle they had recently purchased (they had in fact, almost literally bought out Godric's Hollow's only baby supply store, Madam Magda's Baby Shoppe—"Literally everything any baby could ever need," was its motto). The owner, a kindly, elderly witch named Madam Magda, who nonetheless lived and dressed as a Muggle during business hours, doted on little Harry upon seeing him when James and Lily showed off their new son to the town for the first time. It wasn't until several years later, however, that Harry would start showing how unusual he was—in more ways than one.

THREE YEARS LATER – May 1983

Harry was now a strapping boy of nearly three (at least officially), but his parents were convinced he was closer to four. Either way, though, he was still too young to be allowed near Lily's cauldron while something was brewing in it—especially something hot. Harry had been following his mother around the kitchen and stood beside her as she stirred the mixture in the cauldron, then added something to it and stirred some more, and it turned an emerald-green colour.

"Whatcha makin', Mummy?" he asked.

"Some potion Daddy needs, darling," Lily replied. "Mind you, don't touch it now, because it's boiling hot and could burn you."

"I won't, Mummy," Harry promised, but of course, he fully intended to investigate it as soon as he could … and sure enough, when Lily momentarily turned her back to get another ingredient, Harry dipped a finger into the still-boiling cauldron. If Lily hadn't yelled when she turned around again, it might not have spilled. As it was, part of it went on the floor, the rest all over Harry.

"Harry! _No!_" she screamed, startling him into hitting the cauldron and sending it to the floor. Lily was sure her child would be burned all over by the time she cleaned him and the floor up, both with _Scourgify_ spells—but it was what she saw upon cleaning him up … pink, unmarked skin … that really made her yell. "James! Get your bloody bum in here _now!_"

James ran in a minute later, terrified that something had happened to either his wife or son—if not both. He was relieved to see them both alive and seemingly unharmed, although Harry was wiping his eyes, having been frightened by his mother's scream and crying as a result.

James knelt before drawing his small son into his arms, crooning, "What's the matter, munchkin?" before hugging him and stroking the shock of black hair so like his own.

"Mummy screamed when th' cauldron spilled," the boy reported. "It scared me."

"Well, she was afraid you would be hurt. That's why she screamed—and she _did _tell you not to do it, didn't she?"

Harry hung his head. "Yes, Daddy."

"But you disobeyed her," he returned gently but scoldingly.

"I was … curious," Harry explained. "Didn' mean t' scare her. 'm sorry."

"I'm sure she knows that now, son," James replied, kissing the top of his boy's head before releasing him and turning to face his wife after getting to his feet. "What is it, Lil?"

"The … the potion … it went all over Harry …"

"So what?"

"It was boiling hot, so I warned him to stay away from it. His curiosity got the better of him, of course, and he disobeyed me. It was my fault the cauldron spilled, of course, and I have to start all over again because I startled him when I yelled, but what shocked me was what I found after I finished cleaning him up."

"What did you find?" James asked quietly.

"He wasn't hurt. Not one bit. None of his skin was even a little red—and if that stuff had gone over either of us, we'd have been badly burned. Do you think Harry might actually be what they call … invulnerable, unable to be physically hurt?"

James nodded. "Wouldn't be surprised, considering how he survived the crash of his small ship. We agreed then that no ordinary child could have survived that," he reminded his wife. "What _other_ things are we going to discover about him, I wonder? He seems like a normal boy otherwise."

"Time will tell," Lily said, finally calm enough to address Harry herself. "Sorry I yelled, darling, but you scared me. Are you okay now?"

"Yes, Mummy," Harry assured her. "If you wanna send me t' my room—"

"No need for that. Just don't come into the kitchen again unless I call you or Daddy invites you, okay? I'm going to be busy making more potion, so I don't want to be disturbed because we don't have a lot of the necessary ingredients and I can't afford to lose any more of it. You understand?"

Harry smiled and nodded, hugged his mother, then left the room. She called after him, "Change your clothes, though, and put the soiled ones where I can wash them."

"Yes, Mummy," the boy called back, then they heard his footsteps running up the stairs to his room.

Lily sighed. "I swear, James, I almost had a heart attack when Harry stuck his hand into that ruddy cauldron. I was sure he was going to be burned badly."

"I understand, Lil," her husband assured her. "But you scared me too, when you yelled."

"Sorry," she apologised. "But I had a good reason."

"I know, hon. Don't worry. You'd better get back to the potion, though. I need it for Moony. He's coming by for it tomorrow and you're the best at potions in this house."

"Don't worry, it'll be ready—as long as I'm not disturbed. I'll let you know."

"Fine. I'll get back to the living room now." James kissed his wife and departed the kitchen; Lily gathered up all the necessary ingredients for the Wolfsbane potion and began brewing it again. After this, she vowed to put up wards or something while cooking or brewing so Harry couldn't get near the cauldron or stove without her knowing in order to avoid another incident like the recent one.

Even at that, she couldn't help wondering what surprises were in store for her and James as foster parents to this child from the stars—but all the same, a child which could easily have been mistaken for their own by anyone who didn't know better. She had checked Harry's vision and it had turned out to be perfect, but since James wore glasses, in order to maintain the illusion of Harry's being their natural son, they would need to say that he was near-sighted like his (foster) father and wear glasses. And it would likely be necessary for him to pretend to be hurt sometimes in order to offset suspicion … and who knew, he might even be vulnerable to magic being done to him, even if he was able to perform it himself without harm.

They had not seen him use any kind of extraterrestrial abilities such as telepathy, telekinesis, vision powers, unusual strength or flying without a broom yet, but considering what they had recently experienced, it wouldn't surprised her one bit if it all happened eventually. And all this on top of possible wizard powers! Of course, this was all in the future, but she and James had best be prepared for literally anything where Harry was concerned. One thing was for sure—he was definitely going to keep them on their toes … but if it meant having him, they wouldn't have it any other way!


	3. Chapter 2: Further Discoveries

_Chapter 2 – Further Discoveries_

Over the course of time, and in between his duties as a husband, father and Auror, James took the time to minutely examine the half-melted miniature crystalline starship-cum-birthing matrix, surprised and impressed at the advanced technology employed in both the construction and design of the life support machinery and the small but immensely powerful engines which were capable of traveling at many times the speed of light. He also surmised that it was a combination of the fiery entry through Earth's atmosphere and the explosion of the starship fuel which had caused the small craft's current appearance.

He had also discovered numerous crystals which seemed to have images and information recorded on them. He could only surmise that they were for learning purposes, not to mention a device which seemed to hold several sophisticated, talking interactive holograms—a device which he was unable to operate. There was also some indecipherable lettering in various places, reminiscent of Egyptian hieroglyphics. He wished he knew what it said, but was sure that not even Lily, who had aced Ancient Runes while at Hogwarts, could have translated it, try though she might. It looked as though they would have to wait and see if Harry could translate it when he was older. For the time being, though, they intended to enjoy his childhood and their parenthood as long as they could.

* * * * *

However, he had also found some blank crystals and—inadvertently—a method of recording images and information on them for Harry's later use. He carefully saved all the "learning crystals," as he eventually dubbed them, as well as the old blankets Harry had been wrapped in as a baby. There had been one point at which a fire had accidentally started in the attic and the blankets had caught some errant sparks. After James had put out the fire with water from his wand, he was stunned to note that the blankets were undamaged, as if nothing had ever happened to them. He had to tell Lil about this! He even tried a cutting spell but nothing could damage them, not even magic. Truly incredible; he had seen nothing like it before and doubted he ever would again.

And when they had taken Harry to the Muggle zoo once, a few months ago, he had accidentally vanished the glass on the animals' cages. It had taken every bit of magical power James possessed in order to keep them under control while he replaced the glass. Lily had effectively distracted Harry with his favourite sweet, a chocolate ice cream cone, while James busied himself repairing the damage the boy had done. Not that he blamed the child, of course; he could not control his magic—and it was now obvious that Harry indeed held magical ability as well as extra-terrestrial power, only some of which they had, as of yet, discovered. His invulnerability to injury was only one of several things; it was at this point that James recalled how strong Harry had been even as a baby. If he was that strong as an infant, how strong would he be when grown?

How long would he and Lily be able to control Harry if he discovered more of his extraterrestrial abilities before they did and utilised them against his foster parents? James sensed that Harry was a good, loving child at heart, but like all children, needed the proper discipline and upbringing in order to grow into the kind of man he was meant to be. Magic used on him didn't seem to hurt him; rather, it seemed to keep him under at least temporary control. Maybe that was it; however, he would have to discuss it with Lil before making a final decision.

* * * * *

Harry was just past his fifth birthday when they discovered yet another of his extraterrestrial powers. They had looked all over the house and the grounds, calling him the whole time, but got no answer—not until they had turned around and headed back to the house after going to the boundary of the wards. They then looked up to see a small figure sitting cross-legged … on the roof of the house! How in Merlin's name had he gotten up there? They had a ladder, but it was only two feet in height—definitely not high enough to enable a five-year-old to get onto the roof of a two-storey house. When they got near enough, they heard him call to them.

"Daddy! Mummy! Get me down, please! I'm scared!"

James Apparated onto the roof beside Harry, both relieved and angry. "How did you get up here, son?"

"I don't … remember exactly, Daddy. I was running after a … butterfly, I think Mummy called it … and the next thing I knew, I was on the roof. Please help me. I don't know how to get down."

"Oh, I will, mate. I'm just glad you're all right. Get into my lap and hold on tight."

Harry did so, and James Apparated them both down to the ground, where an anxious Lily was waiting. As soon as James got close enough, she took Harry from him, both hugging and scolding her son for worrying her so, not answering her calls. James told her that Harry had told him he was scared; perhaps that had something to do with it. Lily reluctantly agreed that that was one possibility, but hardly the only one.

"But how in Merlin's name did he ever get up on the roof by himself? It's impossible. The ladder we have isn't anywhere near long enough to reach."

"Do you think that this is an inadvertent demonstration of his extraterrestrial abilities? Like flying without a broom, for instance?" James suggested.

"Nonetheless, we must keep his special abilities a secret as long as possible," Lily declared. "Neither he nor we would ever hear the end of it if the world found out that there was an extraterrestrial child growing up some-where. They'd want him for his abilities, if nothing else … and we cannot allow it. I want him to have as normal a childhood as possible, whatever we may have to do to ensure that."

"I want that as much as you, Lil, but it may be taken out of our hands whether we want it or not. We must be prepared for that—and so must Harry. If he happens to demonstrate this … flying ability again, we must warn him that if he indeed has this power and upon learning to properly control it—with our help—he must not fly except under cover of darkness, as well as at an altitude and speed that he cannot be detected. We already know he's got wizard powers despite his not being our natural child, so this Jor-El and his wife must have been magical as well."

Lily had to agree. "Have you contacted Hogwarts yet?"

"A few days ago. Harry will get an invitation to enroll on his eleventh birthday—or if his eleventh birthday falls on a weekend, as soon as possible after."

"Can you imagine how Dumbledore or McGonagall would react if they saw him do these … unusual things? Much less Harry's friends or someone like Lucius Malfoy? He'd love to shoot off his mouth about Harry's abilities if he sees him and gets half a chance, so we must see to it that he doesn't!"

"Don't worry, he won't—not if I have anything to say about it," James declared, moving to gather his wife and son into his arms, holding them both protectively.

Lily held Harry with one arm while putting an arm around her husband with the other; young Harry rested his head on his father's chest, lovingly nestled between his parents, resting one small hand next to his face. The little family just stood together for a time, basking in the warmth of their love for one another—and the security all around them. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be too much longer before that security would be shattered—but for the moment, they couldn't be happier just being together, just being a family. James had already officially put it down in writing that he specifically wanted Sirius to have custody of Harry and his inheritance if anything happened to him and Lily. Her only remaining relatives—her older sister and her family—had recently been killed in a car accident, so Sirius was the only option available aside from an orphanage should they die unexpectedly.

If they had anything to say about it, Harry would never see the inside of an orphanage. Whatever they had to do, he would always have a have, always have someone to love and care for him. Preferably them, but if not, then Sirius or someone along those lines. Now it was simply a matter of when to tell him about the boy's true origins; Padfoot should be able to take it from there.


	4. Chapter 3: Rendezvous with Destiny

_October 31, 1990_

Harry had officially turned ten three months previously, and his parents had told him to expect a letter from the old and illustrious school of magic they themselves were alumni of, Hogwarts, upon the occasion of his eleventh birthday. Harry was fascinated by anything and everything magical, so he was very much looking forward to going—but particularly to the idea of using a wand, casting spells, making potions … to name only a few things. Since the hot cauldron debacle at age three, Harry had learned to keep his distance from his mother while she made potions or cast spells—especially when she was angry, as his father could well attest. However, he was gradually discovering more and more of his extraterrestrial powers, such as heat vision. The first time he had used it, in fact, at age seven, it had been necessary for James to use a Freezing Charm in order to preserve the integrity of the object in question, then later on, a _Reparo_ spell to put it totally to rights again.

Fortunately, they didn't need to worry about replacing his glasses; Harry had discovered that the crystal construction of the old starship-cum-birthing matrix afforded the perfect means of making a pair of glasses with virtually indestructible lenses. Of course, he also had a pair with regular lenses so he could switch in case anyone got suspicious. But Harry's growing powers weren't James's main concern right now. It was the latest rumour that his former friend and one-time Marauder Peter Pettigrew (aka Wormtail) had gone over to the Dark side. He was aware that James and Lily had gone into hiding; they had even made him a Secret-Keeper. However, Remus and Sirius were also Secret-Keepers, which eased James's mind considerably, but if he'd had any idea that Wormtail intended to go over to the Dark side, he'd never have entrusted him with the know-ledge.

To do so when the person's loyalties were suspect was putting himself and his entire family at grave risk because there was a strong likelihood of Wormtail's betraying their whereabouts to Voldemort and the Death Eaters, who were determined to hunt down the Potters and destroy them for defying the Dark Lord three times. Peter was reportedly no longer in the Order; in fact, Dumbledore had already Obliviated him so that he would be unable to betray the location of their headquarters and thus protect the other members. But James had no idea if the knowledge of their location had also been erased; the first chance he got, he intended to ask.

He had finally told Remus of Harry's true parentage and extraterrestrial origins, understanding his shock as well as his question as to whether or not he should tell Sirius yet. James told him he had every intention of letting him know as well; there was a letter he had written Padfoot explaining all about Harry, his origins and special abilities, but it would only be given to him in the event something happened to him and Lily. He had also designated Remus as backup if something happened to Sirius. In fact, they intended to tell Harry that Remus was a werewolf after the boy had started attending Hogwarts.

For the moment, on the afternoon of October 31, 1990, ten-year-old Harry was napping (Lily had drilled this into him early on as conducive to good health) and she and James were standing in the bedroom doorway watching him sleep. Lily smiled lovingly at the child she had raised and loved as her own as she snuggled against James, her head on his shoulder. Had she not known better, she would have sworn that Harry _was_ their natural child. In addition, they had not told him he was adopted yet and didn't intend to do so until after he had started Hogwarts.

Unfortunately, it would be Sirius who would end up doing all that. He had been enjoying his role as godfather, but it would soon be expanded in a way he had never imagined. Neither would he enjoy the circumstances under which he would acquire that expanded role, but would be unable to do anything to change them. That was mainly because he would be too busy taking care of Harry to worry about anything else at that point in time. Sirius had an affection for Harry which was a mixture of paternal and fraternal, and after seeing the closeness between James, Remus and Sirius, the boy had started calling him and Remus "Uncle" since they were like his father's brothers. Remus seemed to have an affection of sorts for Harry as well, but still seemed guarded when it came to showing it; both James and Sirius suspected that his ongoing lycanthropy had something to do with it.

_3:00 PM, October 31, 1990_

James sighed contentedly, loving the feel of his wife's warmth beside him, breathing in the smell of her perfume as they lay in their bed. He knew well the ecstasy of possessing her. In fact, just the previous night, after Harry was asleep, they had put up Locking and Silencing Charms before spending the night making passionate love until both were pleasantly exhausted. They fully planned to do so again later this evening, having no idea that last night would be their last night alive.

They were brought out of their reverie by a loud knock on the door. In fact, Harry even stirred slightly at the noise before going back to sleep. James swore under his breath at the untimely interruption even as he excused himself to go answer the door. He made a mental note to get rid of the unwanted caller as diplomatically as possible, but they had bloody well better have a reason and a half for being here, or he would hex them into next week first and ask questions later.

Strangest of all was the fact they weren't expecting anyone; not many knew where they were, and those who did generally didn't disturb them. Remus certainly didn't need his Wolfsbane potion, since James had already provided him with it via Lily, so whoever had disturbed their peaceful inter-lude was going to be in big trouble. Unfortunately, in his haste, he had forgotten his wand, which was still lying on top of the bedroom dresser, wishing he hadn't answered the door upon realising who was there, and barely living long enough to regret it … especially since it turned out to be the last thing he ever did. As an Auror, he naturally knew nonverbal, wandless defensive spells, but things had happened too quickly for him to have thought to use any of them. The best he could do was call out, "Lil, it's him! Take Harry and go! I'll hold him off!" Of course, James knew he didn't have his wand on him, but hoped against hope that Voldemort wouldn't deduce that.

As it was, Voldemort's Legilimency told him that his adversary had been taken by surprise and was thus unarmed (nor had he had time to raise mental shields), prompting him to smile evilly. "Indeed. How does even the great Auror James Potter expect to do that without a wand? Come to think of it, while I'm here, I'll take out your filthy Mudblood wife and half-blood brat as well!" With that, the Dark wizard pointed his wand at James and called out the Killing Curse.

With a flash of deadly green light, James slumped to the floor, lifeless, not a mark on him but at the same time, very dead—as his hapless wife soon would be. Lily had stood at the top of the stairs, watching it all with a mixture of horror and grief upon witnessing the cold-blooded murder of her husband, knowing she was likely to be the next victim. And who knew how Dark magic would affect Harry, even with his special abilities? It was for this reason that she knew she had to do something to protect him and had only moments in which to do it.

* * * * *

The next thing she knew, the bedroom door blew open, slamming against the wall and waking Harry once and for all. She sat down on his bed and gathered her son into her arms, defiantly glaring at Voldemort as he stared coldly at her.

"Well, if it isn't the famous Mudblood. I've already taken care of your blood-traitor husband, but you needn't die as long as you give me the brat."

"Never! You'd have to kill me first!"

"Stand aside, silly girl," Voldemort sneered. "I just want the boy."

"You can't have him! Take me instead!"

"As you wish, my dear," came the deceptively silky reply. "_Avada Kedavra_!"

Again, the room was lit up with green light as Voldemort pointed his wand at Lily. She screamed and collapsed upon releasing Harry, sliding lifelessly to the floor.

"Mummy!" Harry called out in horror.

"And now for you, boy," the Dark wizard remarked ominously. "Stand up so I can get a good shot at you."

Harry didn't move, merely sitting on his bed and glaring with a mixture of anger and grief at the killer of his mother—and his own would-be killer—but that didn't concern him at the moment. "Who are you?" he demanded as tears filled his eyes. "Why did you kill my mother?"

"Because I am Lord Voldemort, greatest Dark wizard of all time. I kill all Muggles who think themselves worthy of consorting with pureblood wizards … as well as young upstarts who believe themselves capable of taking me on."

Harry looked at him like he didn't know what he was talking about—which he didn't. All that mattered to him was that his mother had just been killed in front of him and he intended to find out why. "Mummy was a good witch, even if she was a Muggle, as you call her … and Daddy a great wizard! I want to be just like him when I grow up!"

"Foolish boy," Voldemort sneered, pointing his wand at the weeping child, now kneeling beside his dead mother and holding her still-warm but lifeless hand. "I had intended to make you my heir, but now I have no choice but to kill you."

It was at this point that Harry looked up again, wet green eyes demanding to know the answer to his question as he spoke again. "Where's my Daddy? Did you kill him, too?"

Voldemort merely nodded. Harry released his mother's hand, then got to his feet and went to find James. Voldemort followed him downstairs to where James's body lay, sprawled in the foyer before the door. Harry knelt by his father's body, checking for life signs but finding none. Tears again filled his eyes as he clutched his father's hand and sobbed.

"Daddy, Daddy … No! No! Please come back!"

"Silence!" came the cold order, but Harry ignored it. All he knew was that his parents were gone—dead, murdered—and that he was alone, hurting more than he had ever dreamed it possible to hurt.

It was the prophecy heard by one of his lieutenants about a boy born at the end of July 1980 who was destined to destroy him which had prompted Voldemort to attempt to finish the job of destroying the Potters, if only to stop the ruddy brat's infernal caterwauling.

"_Avada Kedavra_!" Voldemort called out one last time, pointing his wand.

This time, Harry collapsed, unconscious, over his father's body—but due to a mixture of his invulnerability and his mother's magic protection, the worst he got was a short period of unconsciousness and what would come to be his trademark: a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead. He would also get the nickname "The Boy Who Lived" once word got around of what had hap-pened today, but he wouldn't be aware of that for some time to come—nor would he care. As for Voldemort, the old magic Lily had employed caused the Killing Curse to not only backfire but the Dark Lord to lose his physical body and become little more than a disembodied spirit. It was for that reason that he decided to flee and go into hiding while he still could.

* * * * *

It was an hour later, shortly after four p.m., that Sirius came, finding his friends dead and the boy unconscious, slumped over his father's body with a raw-looking, lightning-shaped scar on his forehead. He put James and Lily's bodies into wizard stasis, which would preserve them until their funerals could be arranged, but his main concern was Harry. He had been through an emotional trauma; what he needed most now was rest, quiet and a change of scene. Sirius carried the boy to bed and sat up with him while he slept, holding his hand and watching over him protectively after checking the scar with his wand and determining that it was not life-threatening. All the same, he still intended to have Dumbledore double-check it, if only to be on the safe side.

He packed Harry's belongings, then set the small suitcases aside and resumed his seat beside him. Harry awakened shortly after dawn, throwing himself into his godfather's arms and sitting up in bed as soon as he noted Sirius's presence. Sirius buried the boy's face in his shoulder, gently stroking his hair and just letting him cry even as he quietly grieved for his lost friends. To think he would never see Prongs smile again, hear Lil laugh again … the pain was almost unbearable. It could only have been Voldemort who was responsible, but now he was nowhere to be found—and something had caused Harry's scar. Sirius had never known anything to mark him before; perhaps an attempt at the Killing Curse which had backfired for some strange reason? He couldn't be sure; he'd have to ask Dumbledore.

Upon getting up, the boy showered and changed clothes. While waiting for him, Sirius sent his Patronus—a large, shaggy black dog—and told the Order what he had found. He also said to initiate an all-out search for Wormtail, Voldemort and Snape, who had been the one to eavesdrop and learn about the Prophecy, then tell the Dark Lord, prompting Voldemort to go after the Potters and attempt to kill Harry after dispatching James and Lily. Together, these three were responsible for the destruction of the Potter family and whatever he had to do, Sirius intended to get revenge for the deaths of his friends, if only on Harry's behalf.

It was at this point that Harry rejoined him, once again moving into his godfather's arms and resting his head on his chest. "Why did this … Voldemort have to kill Mummy and Daddy, Uncle Sirius? What did they ever do to deserve it?"

"They defied him," Sirius returned, voice ominously quiet. "And I know how you must feel, mate. I loved them too; they were my closest friends.

I promise you, we'll find Voldemort and make bloody damn sure he's punished!" _As well as all who conspired with him,_ Sirius finished in his mind, hatred and grief consuming him on Harry's behalf as well as his own.

"He killed Mummy right in front of me … and actually laughed as he bragged about killing Daddy," Harry reported, again burying his face in Sirius's chest but not crying anymore at the moment.

Even as Sirius held the boy in strong, comforting arms, he saw a Patronus come through the open bedroom door—a wolf this time. It had to be Remus's. The talking Patronus said to bring Harry to Grimmauld Place for safe-keeping; once he was safe and taken care of, they would make the final arrangements regarding James and Lily, the Godric's Hollow cottage and Harry's inheritance. It also said to come see him once he got back because he had something James had left with him concerning Harry … among other things. After telling Harry everything, the boy grabbed his suitcases, then Sirius wrapped him securely in a blanket and Apparated them to Grimmauld Place. He found the entire Order waiting, including Dumbledore, who greeted Harry with a sympathetic, grandfatherly smile before gently Obliviating him and sending him back to merciful unconsciousness for a few hours.

This would give Sirius time to go over things with Remus and the others, discuss matters regarding Harry and his inheritance, as well as the final disposition of both the Godric's Hollow property and James and Lily. But the most important thing was Harry's welfare; before anything else, they must see to it that he was well provided for, both emotionally and financially.


	5. Chapter 4: The Life Changes Begin

_Chapter 4—The Life Changes Begin_

The life changes began three days later after the double funeral for James and Lily, held in the Godric's Hollow churchyard. Sirius didn't think he would ever forget that day, nor did he believe Remus ever would, either—much less Harry. And now, because of Peter's betrayal, Harry was now an orphan. Fortunately, the letter James had left with Remus had contained the joint will, and said will had left all their money and property to Harry.

It also stipulated that Sirius was to be Harry's guardian and raise the boy as his own … and if anything happened to him, Remus would assume responsibility. Due of the fact of his lycanthropy, however, he would leave Harry with the Weasleys for the duration of his transformations. Sirius also mentioned that he intended to leave his own possessions and money to Remus in that event; otherwise, they would revert to Harry if anything happened to him. The boy would officially gain control of them upon coming of age.

But in the meantime, they had to get through the funeral, where Harry was curled up in Sirius's lap, his face buried in his chest, his shoulders shaking with sobs. Sirius's own eyes were full of tears for his lost friends, but he had to be strong for the boy, so he held them back as best he could. After the funeral, Harry would live with Sirius; in fact, his belongings were already at Grimmauld Place … at least for the moment. He wasn't about to bring Harry up in the house he had grown up hating, so he gave it to the Order for their Headquarters and started looking for another home for himself and Harry. There would also be an extra room for Remus if he so wished—that is, whenever he was himself and not doing anything for the Order.

* * * * *

_November 10, 1990_

As it turned out, they found a place within five miles of Grimmauld Place. It had three good-sized bedrooms, along with a big, airy living room and kitchen. They had Molly Weasley come and help them settle in. Sirius also intended to have Harry stay with the Weasleys whenever he had to go somewhere on Order business and they were free to look after him. Sirius had also already informed Hogwarts of the address change and his assumption of his guardianship of Harry as well as of James and Lily's passing.

On Harry's eleventh birthday, the letter and booklist would arrive at their present home. Sirius also planned to take Harry to Diagon Alley shortly before he was due to leave for Hogwarts for school supplies, such as a wand, spellbooks and the like. That wasn't the problem. The main problem was anyone outside their circle possibly learning that Harry was not of this earth … that he had powers even beyond his wizard magic: such as invulnerability, certain visual abilities, super-strength and speed—to name a few.

James had given him a detailed report of Harry's life and abilities so far and how to control him, if need be. They had even run across the only substance Harry was vulnerable to other than magic … Kryptonite, radioactive chunks of his lost home planet, the radiation of which could affect him in a number of ways, depending on its colour.

Green Kryptonite was the deadliest, of course, since it could cause fatal radiation poisoning in any native of Krypton. They also knew of a reddish variety from the learning crystals which could affect Harry in odd ways, and a gold version he had learned of at the same time, which could remove his extraterrestrial powers permanently. However, his birth father, Jor-El, had also learned that the substance lead would protect Harry from the damaging rays.

At the moment, however, Harry would settle for simply keeping a respectful distance from all those varieties should he encounter them … and hoped any enemies he might make in the course of his life never discovered any of it, much less how it affected him. But once he had met one Ginevra Molly Weasley, the sister of his future best friend, no amount of any substance could shield him from the effect she had on him. Nor would he _want_ to shield himself. Not even a super-being was invulnerable to falling in love.

Of course, this was still some time in the future, but once it happened, Harry would be hooked

for life, as would she. It would take time for Ginny to fully integrate herself into his life and consciousness, but once she did, there would be no way in the universe he could—or ever want to—get her out.

* * * * *

Meanwhile, Sirius and company knew it was up to them to do everything they could to act as acceptable parental surrogates. Even at that, it would take time for Harry to get used to them and his new home. There would be many nights that Sirius would hold Harry and just let the boy cry out his grief for his parents, sometimes feeling totally inadequate to help him, even though he knew he was doing all he could for him..

Another thing he had seen to was obtaining a picture of James and Lily for Harry to keep in remembrance of them. Thankfully, he was old enough to have known, remembered, loved and bonded with them, so that helped in the grieving process. There would also be occasional problems with anger mixed with grief. Whenever that happened, Sirius would suggest Harry go to a private spot to vent his negative feelings—such as throwing or pounding boulders or using his vision powers on inanimate objects until he felt calm enough to rejoin the world. Otherwise, he would need to take Calming Draughts, or if all else failed, whoever happened to be near him at the time would cast a Stupefying spell.

Even at that, Harry knew even at his young age that possessing both extraterrestrial and magical powers would be far more of a threat to him and all those around him than if he had just one or the other; because of this, he would have to be careful how he treated every- one from now on or he could inadvertently injure them—especially women.

He could be a hero in both the Wizarding and Muggle world if he chose to do so, of course, but it would place additional stress not only on him but on anyone who associated with him, especially if the involvement were familial, long-term or romantic. He also had to guard against not only those who might wish him physical harm in either world, but those who were merely dazzled by his extraterrestrial powers and not truly interested in him as a person.

It would also be necessary to guard against those who would take advantage of his celebrity status for their own gain, be it monetary or emotional. Sirius was glad Harry wouldn't have to deal with such things right away, but it would come soon enough—so he had best prepare both the boy and himself for it while he had the chance.

_**July 31, 1991**_

By the time Harry's official birthday and Hogwarts letter came, he was just getting used to his parents being gone, although he still grieved for them and knew he would always miss them. All the same, he was settling in nicely with Sirius and Remus stayed with them periodically, although Harry was currently unaware of Remus's lycanthropy. Sirius did intend to tell him at some point, of course—probably once he turned thirteen.

At the moment, however, their main concern was getting Harry properly prepared to begin his magical education. By this time Sirius knew all about Harry's true origins and could well under-stand why Prongs and Lily had adopted him, as well as made the changes they did in his physiology so he looked like them and thus make their story more believable.

Even at that, it made no difference now. What mattered was that Harry had had two loving parents who had literally died protecting him—parents who couldn't have loved him more had he been their own natural child. Also, one of the stipulations in their will was that Harry was to have a special fund for his education; the rest of the money and property would be held in trust for him by Sirius and Remus until the boy came of age. It was from the educational fund that they would buy all his necessary school supplies—robes, school uniforms, wand, broomstick, potion ingredients, cauldron … you name it ... over the next seven years.

Sirius had Molly and Remus working on their plans for Harry's eleventh birthday party while he took the boy to Diagon Alley, first showing him how to get in if he needed to. Once they were in, the first place they went—after having a hearty breakfast, that was (which Sirius paid for with his own gold)—was Madam Malkin's to get Harry measured for his school robes and uniforms, including socks and shoes. While they were waiting for those to be made, Sirius took him to get his first wand at Ollivander's.

It took roughly six tries, but they finally found the perfect wand for Harry—eleven inches, made of holly with a phoenix-feather core. It was the brother to Voldemort's own, although neither would know that for years to come. After that, they went to the Owl Emporium to get Harry an owl. He ended up choosing a two-year-old female snowy owl, which he named Hedwig. He saw many other wizard children doing the same things he was everywhere he went and couldn't help wondering which of them would end up being his friends—or enemies. That would have to wait until he was actually heading for school on the Hogwarts Express, and that wouldn't happen for almost another couple of months yet. After that, they completed the rest of their necessary purchases and picked up the robes and uniforms, then Apparated back home.

* * * * *

Neither Harry nor Sirius had had any idea that time could pass so fast. It seemed like only yesterday that he had turned eleven, but was now September 1. Harry had been almost too excited to sleep the night before, so Sirius had him pack his trunk and lay out his clothing to put on the next morning, then ready his owl so all he would have to do upon arising in the morning was shower, dress, and have breakfast—then he and Sirius would Apparate to Kings Cross Station and Sirius would show him how to get to Platform 9¾ and the Hogwarts Express.

They left the house at 10:45 a.m. to give themselves time to Apparate to the station and get situated, as well as have time for farewells. Again, upon arrival, Harry saw many of the same wizard children he had in Diagon Alley preparing to board the Hogwarts school train—most particularly a girl with bushy brown hair carrying a large furry ginger cat and accompanied

by her mother while her father carried her school trunk.

He also saw a whole gaggle of redheads milling around, although only four seemed to be preparing to leave. One of them looked to be about his age, with bright red hair and brighter blue eyes, as well as covered with freckles. He was also skinny and wearing secondhand clothes like the rest of them.

"Fred, George, Ron, hurry up! The train's getting ready to leave, and Percy's already aboard!" scolded a plump, kind-faced woman who must be their mother, a ten-year-old girl with the same red hair and deep brown eyes clinging to her mother's hand.

Harry could scarcely take his eyes off the girl, even now, although he couldn't have known that he had just met the girl who would one day be his bride. Again, that would be years in the future.

"Hold your hippogriffs, Mum, we're coming!" called one boy who looked about thirteen, standing next to another boy who looked to be his mirror image. Identical twins, from the look

of them – then the boys all grabbed their things and hauled them onto the train.

The boy his own age helped Sirius get Harry's trunk on board after getting his own, then once the tearful older woman had managed to pry both herself and her small daughter off her sons and brothers, Harry gave Sirius one last hug and made himself not look back until he had seated himself near a window.

Sirius had stayed to wave goodbye, and Harry did so. He then called out the open window, "I'll be owling you real soon, Padfoot!"

"I'll be watching for it!" Sirius called back. "Take care, Harry. Best of luck to you in school. Gotta go now!" With that, he Disapparated.

Harry jumped upon hearing a voice speak to him, looking up to see the skinny red-headed boy

in second-hand clothes ask if he could join him. His brothers were too occupied with their own importance to bother with him.

"Sure," Harry said. "Have a seat."

"Thanks. By the way, who was that who dropped you off? Couldn't have been your dad. Didn't look like you," the red-headed boy observed.

"No. He's my godfather, my dad's best friend. I live with him now. My parents were … killed last year."

"Sorry to hear that. What happened?"

"If you don't mind, I don't care to talk about it right now. Still hurts too much. Maybe later."

"Sure, I understand," the red-headed boy returned. "By the way, the name's Ron Weasley." He held out his hand.

Harry took the hand and shook it. "Harry Potter. Nice to meet you."

The other boy's eyes widened but he didn't say anything other than "Do you know what House you're going to be in yet? My whole family's been in Gryffindor."

"My godfather's whole family were in Slytherin except for him," Harry replied. "He was in Gryffindor, too. That's where he met my dad."

"How did he manage that?" Ron wondered.

"No idea. I never asked him."

"Maybe it's time you did," the other boy remarked.

Just then, a girl's voice broke in. "Excuse me, but can I sit here with you? I can't find a seat anywhere else."

It was the bushy-haired girl with the big ginger cat Harry had seen earlier. He nodded, but Ron looked horrified at the idea of a cat being anywhere near his rat Scabbers. In reality, the rat was actually another wizard in Animagus form, but once again, it would be years in the future before anyone would know this.

"Fine," Ron said. "Just keep your ruddy cat away from my rat. He's already shaking like a leaf."

"Thanks." The girl smiled and sat her cat down in the remaining seat, then seated herself next to him. "This is Crookshanks. I'm Hermione Granger." She reached out a hand to the boys, who each shook it.

"Harry Potter."

"Ron Weasley."

Harry then made a mental note to ask Ron about the little red-headed, brown-eyed girl at the first opportunity. For the time being, he busied himself getting to know his seatmates. Even at that, he didn't know them nearly well enough yet to tell them the full truth about himself, so he would keep that secret to himself for the present. And the rest was (or more accurately, soon would be) history.


	6. Chapter 5: Hogwarts, Year 2

_**Chapter 5 – Hogwarts, Year 2**_

Of course, Harry was going to get to know Ginny much better than he had ever imagined…and the way it ended up happening was beyond anything he had ever experienced up to that point. Especially when she began her first year as he was beginning his second. Strange things began to happen almost as soon as school started, and Ginny—who ordinarily had the proverbial photographic memory—began experiencing blackouts, where she had found herself in a given place and was unable to remember how she had gotten there. What was worse, her robes, hands and hair were often in an unholy mess. The only real clue Harry had was the times he had seen her writing in a small book, most likely a diary, because she was still shy around him and tended to blush a vivid red whenever he was either in the room with her or spoke to her.

In fact, the first time he had taken supper with the Weasleys, there had been a time when he had asked Ginny to pass the pumpkin juice and she had reached for it, but was so flustered at his having spoken to her that she ended up putting her elbow in the butter dish and knocking it to the floor with a crash. She had apologized profusely, but Mrs. Weasley (it was several years before he would be allowed to call her Molly) said it was all right, that she would get more better…in a non-breakable dish this time. Upon doing that, she used a _Reparo_ spell to repair the shattered dish and a _Scourgify_ spell to clean up the butter from the floor. Ginny had been unable to meet Harry's eyes for the rest of the day and had not responded when he had said it was all right, that he didn't hold it against her for blundering.

That incident was now over a year in the past, but Ginny still tended to act as though it had happened only yesterday. If only seemed to make things worse when he tried to speak to her, so he used go-betweens whenever possible, such as Ron or even Hermione, who had befriended Ginny and whom the younger girl liked, trusted and whose opinion she greatly respected. Strangest of all was the fact that Ron had said that it was unusual for Ginny to be so shy. As far as he knew, "she hardly ever shuts up," to quote him. Harry knew little about girls, and what he did know, Hermione had told him. He also had a sneaking suspicion that it was because of him, that she was fast developing a raging crush on him—and not only because 'Mione had suggested the possibility. Even at that, he still felt awkward around them and was sure that he always would.

But whether he was right or wrong, Harry ended up not having a lot of time to think on it at any length, especially when the strange incidents involving Ginny began to pile up. If it wasn't finding Filch's cat, Mrs. Norris, Petrified, it was finding Ginny in a dazed state with her hands and robes covered with blood and feathers-then shortly thereafter, discovering an ominous note written in that same blood on one wall of the Great Hall…_The__Chamber__of__Secrets__has__been__opened__…__enemies__of__the__Heir,__beware!_

No one had any idea just what that cryptic warning meant, although Hermione had vowed to research and find out, if it was the last thing she did. Unfortunately, shortly after she had told him that she believed she had found the answer, she had been found Petrified herself, an illustrated piece of parchment clutched in one hand, along with one other student—Colin Creevey, a photography buff, who hero-worshipped Harry and had been coming to speak with him.

They were all now in the Hospital Wing, and Madam Pomfrey was waiting for the plant-creatures who could cure them to mature. Only when Mandrakes were fully mature—a process which took several days—could a potion be made which would return the Petrified victims to normal. Harry had no idea just how it was made or administered, much less how they had been attacked; he had never been good at Potions. All that really mattered to him was getting Hermione and the others back to normal.

Meanwhile, they decided to investigate just who the Heir of Slytherin might be; all pretty much agreed that Malfoy must have a link to it, considering his family's pure-blood mania. In the end, Hermione decided to see if she could make Polyjuice Potion—something which made the person who took it into someone else for an hour—in order to learn more. For that, she decided to approach the latest DADA teacher, Professor Gilderoy Lockhart. A strutting popinjay if there ever was one, but still a teacher…and it required a teacher's signature to retrieve a book from the Restricted Section of the school library…_Most__ Potente__ Potions_, the very book which had the recipe for Polyjuice in it, according to Hermione.

Harry was even tempted to use his ET powers to sneak into the library and would have suggested it to Hermione, but felt sure that she would have said there was too much of a risk that his otherworldly powers would be discovered. With her temper and stubbornness, he eventually decided that it wasn't worth the trouble to mention it. They were taking enough of a risk as it was.

After they got the book, Hermione studied it, telling them that the making was notoriously complicated and would take at least a month, even if they were able to get all the ingredients. Some could be gotten fairly easily, but for others—like boomslang skin and lacewing flies—Snape's private stores would have to be infiltrated. It was finally agreed that Hermione would do it, under the protection of Harry's Invisibility Cloak, after one of the others created a diver-sion. She also warned them to make sure it lasted long enough for her to retrieve the ingredients and return to class without being missed.

Luckily for Harry and Ron, they had a Quidditch game with Slytherin coming up and were too occupied with figuring winning strategies to be overly concerned about Hermione and what she would have to do to accomplish her objective. They would concern themselves with the next step when the time came. Meanwhile, they had better things to think about.

But a rogue Bludger had pulverized his right arm just above the elbow, then the pathetically inept Lockhart attempted to heal it, only making matters worse when he had removed the bones completely. Because of this, Harry had had to be in the Hospital Wing overnight, growing the thirty-three bones in his arm. It wouldn't have been so bad if it had only been broken. As it was, re-growing bones was painful and would take many hours to accomplish.

He would not have been injured ordinarily, but magic could affect him in unpredictable ways, just like red Kryptonite. Fortunately for him, Madam Pomfrey had given him a Sleeping Potion, but it had worn off after a few hours and he had been frightened half to death by the slavish Dobby attempting to look after him. Dobby had said that the Chamber had been opened before, but Harry had been unable to get anything else out of him about who had done it, for the elf had Disapparated.

Harry had set a firecracker from Fred and George to go off with his wand, enabling Hermione to duck into Snape's stores for the two needed ingredients. Shortly after the mayhem had died down, he spotted her back at her desk, meeting his eyes with a conspiratorial grin. Even at that, it would take another two weeks to complete the potion, and he definitely wasn't looking forward to getting the last but most necessary ingredient—a piece of the person they were supposed to become.

Ron had definitively vetoed toenails or fingernails, so they agreed on hair…but that didn't sound any more palatable, at least not to Harry. But they didn't have a lot of choice, so they went with it. Hermione had Accio'd the necessary hairs from across the Great Hall and the Slytherin table to the Gryffindor table. Now that they had all the ingredients and they had been properly mixed, all they could do was wait and see how everything turned out.

The next week brought further trouble; rumbles had finally reached them about Harry supposedly being the Heir of Slytherin—on the flimsiest possible premise, too…the fact that he could speak Parseltongue. Usually only Dark wizards could do that, and he wasn't Dark as far as he knew. Unfortunately he would be unlikely to convince too many others of that fact other than Ron or Hermione—especially not Justin Finch-Fletchley.

He gave Harry a wide berth whenever he saw him, avoiding him like the plague whenever and wherever he possibly could. Nothing Harry had said could convince him that he had not been trying to sic the snake on him. He had, in fact, ordered it away…but who would believe him at this juncture? Ernie McMillan hadn't been any help either, acting so paranoid, and what's more, in front of an audience!

Oh well, he wasn't going to change anything by dwelling on it, something he could not change, not even with all his otherworldly or magical powers. People would have to change because they wanted to, not because others demanded it. He had already decided that if the world couldn't accept him as he was, warts and all, then that was their worry, not his.

He was brought back to reality by an impatient Ron shaking his shoulder. "Harry, mate, we've got to go!"

"Go? Go where?"

"To Hermione. She says she's finished the Polyjuice Potion. It's time for us to change into Slytherins—at least temporarily."

"Oh, yeah. Sorry, mate. Forgot. Where is she?"

"In that old bathroom. I told her I'd go get you. Let's go."

With that, Harry tossed his study materials into his backpack, slid one strap over his shoulder and headed out of the room at Ron's heels. For the last several weeks, he had frankly had his doubts as to whether or not they would ever actually reach this point, but what mattered was that the time was finally here. In just a short while, they would find out what they needed to know—and when they did, their next move would be made on the strength of that knowledge.

They were back in their own common room four hours later, armed with the knowledge they needed. It was just as they had thought, even though there had been a bad moment when both he and Ron had thought that the Polyjuice was wearing off. What was more, Harry was sure that Draco was suspicious of how strangely his regular sidekicks had been acting, but he was also sure that it would end up being Crabbe and Goyle's worry and not his or Ron's.

Of course, if any of the Slytherins ever found out what they had done, they would surely take revenge on them…and Harry didn't want to imagine what form that revenge might take.

The main hope now was that Hermione could find a way to reverse what had happened to her. The hair she had commandeered had not been Millicent Bulstrode's; rather, it had been cat hair. As a result, she had grown pointed ears, fur and a tail. As far as she could tell, Polyjuice was not meant to work that way, so she had to stay out of sight until she figured out the best thing to do to counteract what had happened.

But it seemed like there was one problem after another. Just when Hermione and Colin had recovered from the Petrification, Justin had been attacked…and everyone seemed to believe that Harry had done it, even though he had had neither the chance nor the desire to do it. Fortunately both Dumbledore and McGonagall believed in his innocence, which was what mattered—and had the power to discipline anyone who didn't behave themselves.

This was not the end of Harry's problems, however; quite the opposite. They were just getting started—especially when he heard that Ginny had disappeared without a trace shortly after the latest attack. If only for Ron's sake, he had to find her—and already suspected that he knew where she would be. Not to mention the perpetrator of the wrong done to her. If he was correct, that person was going to get themselves hexed six ways from Sunday…and that would be just the beginning!

In the end, he was able to save Ginny, although it took the assistance of Fawkes, the Sword of Gryffindor and the Sorting Hat to pull it off. Especially after plunging the sword into the enchanted diary and managing to destroy the manifestation of the teenage Voldemort. Both he and Ginny had to be checked over by Madam Pomfrey, but were each given a clean bill of health (at least physically) about a week after the incident.

That wasn't what Harry was concerned about. He was more concerned as to how it might be affecting her emotionally. He had had his own problems dealing with it, of course, and only recently had Sirius managed to persuade him to open up and confide in him. He only wished he knew a way to get Ginny to open up to _him_, but so far only Hermione had any idea of Ginny's thoughts and feelings on the matter and wouldn't tell him anything, claiming that she had been sworn to secrecy.

Harry also knew that 'Mione was first cousin to the Sphinx if she didn't want to talk—and this was one of those times. Ginny needed to talk to him, even she had admitted that, but had been avoiding him like the plague, not being in his presence unless it was absolutely necessary…and even then made sure that at least one other person was in the room with them. He eventually surmised that it was because she had cried in front of him and was unable to look him in the face, she was so embarrassed.

He had tried everything he could think of to approach her, but she wouldn't let him near her. He finally asked Hermione to tell her that he didn't hold anything against her and wanted them to be friends again. Hermione had assured him she would tell Ginny, but it didn't seem to change anything, although she did promise to think of a way to convince Ginny to approach him on the subject. If anyone could get her to do it, it would be Hermione.

All the same, he was getting desperate, having even considered using the _Imperius_ to make her more receptive to him. Of course, Hermione had definitively vetoed that upon hearing about it, seeming to read his mind—or at least his face. Harry would almost have sworn that she could do Legilimency!

"No, Harry. It would only make things worse…and besides, it's illegal. You won't help Ginny by getting yourself locked up in Azkaban."

Harry eventually had to (albeit reluctantly) agree with her, especially when she said that what would have the greatest impact on Ginny would be to approach her himself. But how could he when he didn't know how to go about it, the first thing to say? How could he possibly help Ginny when he scarcely knew how to deal with it himself?


	7. Chapter 6: Four Years Later

_**Chapter 6: Four Years Later**_

One night, late in his sixth year and Ginny's fifth year, Harry took her hand and led her to the back door of Hogwarts. As they slid through the door and he quietly closed it behind them, he said he had a surprise for her. It was a cool night, so he conjured a Warming Charm around the two of them so they would not be chilled, despite the fact they were each wearing sweatshirt jackets.

She gave him a questioning look. "What's the surprise?"

Harry merely smiled enigmatically and pulled her along. "You'll see."

"Harry, please don't keep me in suspense. I'm all but dying of curiosity. You've been so bloody mysterious the past few days, like you're hiding the world's biggest secret."

"I just might be," he murmured. It was a beautiful night, with a full moon and the stars twinkling like diamonds on black velvet.

"Didn't you say we were going flying?" Ginny finally said, if only to break the maddening silence after Harry's last remark.

"Yeah," Harry admitted quietly, so much so that Ginny could barely hear him.

"So where's your broom? We can't go flying without a broom."

"I can," he said. With that, Harry scooped Ginny off her feet and into his arms—then took off into the sky.

"Harry, what are you _doing_…? _Ahhh_!" The rest of what she had been about to say was lost in the scream of mixed surprise and delight that came from her. She was almost literally stunned speechless as she realized that Harry didn't need a broom to fly, that he himself was the super-being rumoured to be a student at Hogwarts…and that _she_ was his girlfriend!

Harry had wanted to tell Ginny about himself for years, and now that they had begun dating, he believed it was time. It might not be easy for her to accept and deal with, and would take time to sink in, but he was sure it would happen eventually. Meanwhile, he had to think of the best way to tell her.

He had naturally told Ron and Hermione at the first opportunity and they were keeping his secret—but he had admonished them not to say anything to Ginny until and unless he said it was all right. He had also told Ron that he could tell Arthur and Molly about him (Harry), but to swear them to secrecy as well. Since he had been attending school, he had also learned that Dumbledore and McGonagall knew.

Sirius had told them via owl post what James had shared with him about Harry's origins. Harry had long ago surmised that that they would have eventually figured it out even if they hadn't been told that he was more than just a wizard…that he was, in fact, super-human. However, in the name of both equality and the safety of all concerned, they were to treat him like an ordinary student. Even at that, Harry was sure that the Slytherins and other nasty types like Snape had also heard the aforementioned rumour and he intended to take the proper precautions in the event any of them decided to move against him. Particularly if Snape took it into his head to inform Voldemort.

He would not be surprised if it had all but floored them and taken time getting used to—but in the end, he was certain they would continue to keep his secret as well. He had enough to worry about just keeping himself out of the clutches of Snape and the Malfoys.

Of course, there would naturally be others Harry would need to keep his special abilities a secret from besides them. He didn't like keeping it from his other friends, like Neville and Luna. Not that he didn't trust them, but it was best for them not to know in the event they were captured by the Dark side. What they didn't know, they couldn't confess, not even under torture. His secret had been spread around enough as it was, but the ones who did know, it was necessary for them to know.

He came back to reality when Ginny, who had clung to him for a while, then gradually loosened her grip, said, "Harry, what's happening? How can you—we—possibly be doing this?"

Harry swallowed hard before making himself speak. "I am not of this earth, Gin."

"What do you mean, you're not of this earth? Where are you from, then?"

"A planet in a faraway galaxy, hundreds of light-years from here. I was sent here as a baby in a miniature starship by my birth parents, both renowned scientists and magical people. I don't know how long it took for me to reach this planet, just that it seemed endless—and that when I arrived, my foster parents discovered me and raised me as their own. They were the parents who were killed just over six years ago by Voldemort."

"How can you fly without a broom? And what other powers do you have?" Ginny inquired.

"I still don't know all the details, but Padfoot told me that my foster father, James, his best friend, gave him a detailed story of my origins and background. From what he told me, I gathered that it is due to the super-energizing rays of this planet's yellow sun and its lighter gravity that I obtained the powers. I can see through virtually anything, warm or melt virtually anything, see through things at a distance…as well as see things invisible to the naked eye. I also cannot be hurt physically and am far stronger than ordinary humans."

"Then why do you wear glasses?"

"Two reasons—to protect my identity and make it seem as though I am a true Potter. James was near-sighted, so Sirius said that Lily, my foster mother, even changed my looks slightly so that I resembled him, including my eye colour, to match hers. Then they got me glasses that resembled his."

"What about your home planet?"

"It was destroyed in a nuclear explosion, according to James. As a result, I have a weakness for any piece of the planet I may come into contact with because they remain radioactive, even after all these years. There are several types—green, red and gold."

"How do they affect you?"

"The red kind provokes unusual actions and changes in me physically, while the gold stuff can take away my ET powers permanently…but green is the worst."

"Why is that?"

"Because its radiation is fatal to me. It causes radiation poisoning which can kill me in a very short time if I have no protection from it."

"Is there anything which can protect you from it?"

"Fortunately, yes," Harry replied as he made a turn due left, heading north.

"What is it?"

"A substance called lead."

"How does it protect you?"

"I haven't figured that out yet. I only know that it does. Maybe I should check my learning crystals…" His voice trailed off.

"Learning crystals?"

"Special crystals my birth father sent along with me which have information and images recorded on them."

"Is there any more you can tell me about your home planet?"

"It's called Krypton, and is much larger and with heavier gravity than Earth. My people are—or rather, were—far more advanced than Earth. We even had things called interactive holograms."

Ginny frowned questioningly, unseen by Harry, but for the moment he actually seemed talked out, so she didn't pressure him further. If he wanted her to know more, he would tell her. For now, it was enough to know that he trusted her enough to confide to her his greatest secret.

"Do Ron and Hermione know your true background?"

"Yes, and I swore them to secrecy." His tone stopped her indignant retort. "I wanted to tell you myself."

"Are they the only ones who know besides Sirius, Remus and the school Heads?"

Harry nodded. "Not that I don't trust Neville and Luna, but I thought it best to keep those who know my secret to a minimum. After all, what they don't know can't be tortured out of them in the event they're captured by the Dark side. As a result, their lack of knowledge cannot be used against me on that score."

"But the ones who do know, they're going to be in danger—including me—should the Dark side learn of our knowledge, much less your trust and affection for us."

Harry knew she was right, so he didn't argue. "I know, but it's a chance we'll have to take."

Just then, Ginny noticed that they were descending and that the city of Paris, France, was sprawled out beneath them. She could already see the Eiffel Tower and Arc d' Triomphe from their vantage point. "Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"Could we—you, Ron, me and Hermione—talk about what you've told us among ourselves?"

"As long as we put up the _Muffliato_ spell beforehand in order to prevent being overheard by the wrong people." She was well aware who the "wrong people" were, so she didn't question him after that. Only moments later they landed in a secluded lane just outside the city limits and began walking toward the main thoroughfare, where they would hire a cab to take them into the city.


	8. Chapter 7: A Night to Remember

_**Chapter 7: A Night to Remember**_

When she recalled the experience later, Ginny couldn't believe how incredible it had been to fly with Harry. And the wind in her face, blowing her hair… Once over the initial shock, she loved it. It had been somewhat cold, but Harry's warmth so near to her had rendered her immune to it—or at least it seemed like it. They visited several places that night, noted world landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower, the Great Wall of China, the Pyramids and Sphinx in Egypt (all the while they were there, she regaled Harry with details of her trip there with her family a few years ago).

They even visited some local landmarks on the way back home, such as Big Ben in London. She had never dreamed she would ever see the huge clock or its tower up close, much less the Parliament Building or Buckingham Palace. He put the Invisibility Cloak over them and they flew slowly—and fairly low—over the grounds. To her delight, she actually saw the Queen and Prince Philip walking in the royal gardens, along with Prince Charles and his sons, William and Harry. The latter was with his girlfriend and William his new wife, Princess Catherine. No more "Kate" for her, at least not officially. He really wished that Diana could still have been with them. She had been so beautiful, and William looked so like her! He had even given his wife his mother's engagement ring, and noted that Catherine wore it on her left hand, along with her wedding band, a gold band circled with smaller diamonds.

Ginny had even heard that she was pregnant and due the following summer. They all looked so great, yet at the same time, so…well…_normal._ Hardly seemed like royalty at all. Harry assured her that even they were just people, subject to aging and all the ailments which came with it—not to mention the emotional problems that went not only with being famous and royal, but human, married, fathers and mothers…just like everyone else. Nor did they wear crowns anymore. She had found out a while back that they were only worn for ceremonial and formal affairs—and even then, usually by women.

But to get back to the trip…

Ginny didn't think she would ever be able to remember everything she had seen on the round-the-world trip to tell her family. Something she had never experienced before and something she doubted she would ever experience again. Harry couldn't possibly have time to do this for her very often, even if he wanted to—he would be far too busy being guardian of Earth.

Again, he seemed to read her mind even as they took off again. "Don't worry, Gin. We'll go wherever you want, whenever you want. I'm at your disposal."

"But you're going to be so busy, taking care of the world," she began.

Harry cut her off courteously but firmly. "I always have time for those I care about, and you're one of them." They stopped briefly on a grassy cliff for a moment, then he gathered her into his arms and kissed her deeply, "Most _definitely_ one of them," he finished with a sly wink after reluctantly releasing her. Ginny felt her head swimming with the sweet passion of his remembered kiss as they took off again and she rested her head on his shoulder as one arm gently but firmly wrapped around her. He had definitely spoiled her for any other man. None could ever compare to him, not ever again!

They had dinner just before returning home; he had gotten her all her favorite foods. She had commented that her mum probably wouldn't be pleased, but Harry just smiled and assured her that Molly would understand. She hoped he was right even as he flew her one last place, the Godric's Hollow churchyard where his parents were.

She would never forget the way he had introduced her to them (as it were) and then conjured up a wreath of flowers for them which would be impervious to any and all weather. Once they arrived home, it was fairly late, close to midnight—and both Arthur and Molly weren't pleased, at least initially…but softened when both Harry and Ginny told them what they had done.

"I hope you got pictures," Molly admonished gently even as the younger couple headed up to bed.

"Don't worry, Mum, we did," she assured her mother. "I'd better go now. We're both tired and need some sleep."

Molly didn't argue with that because she could tell just by looking at them how tired they were—albeit most pleasantly so. "Do you intend to tell Ron and Hermione about your trip?"

"Of course. Probably in the morning after breakfast," Ginny remarked, shooting a sidelong glance at Harry to see if he agreed; he smiled and nodded in confirmation. "Good night now, Mum and Dad."

"Good night," the older couple returned with a smile. "Sleep well."

The younger smiled back and headed upstairs. Harry saw Ginny to her room where they both heard Hermione's quiet breathing through the half-open door. Harry even swore that he could hear Ron snoring from his room down the hall. "Wouldn't be surprised at all," Ginny replied with a wink. "Wish you could come in."

"Still time for that," Harry returned with an answering wink. "We'd better get to bed now. I, for one, feel sure that I'm bloody well going to be asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow!" He kissed her good-night again and they held each other for a while, then reluctantly parted for the night. "See you in the morning, love."

"Same to you," she returned softly. "I love you. Thank you for a wonderful evening." She smiled and closed the door after slipping inside her room.

"My pleasure," came the soft reply. "Love you, too."

With that, Harry turned and headed down the hall. In spite of herself, Ginny watched until he turned into the room he shared with Ron, then closed the door of her own room and prepared to join Hermione in the large bed she had inherited from her parents. Upon showering and changing into her pale pink frilly nightie—how she wished Harry could see her in it—just as she would love to see him in just his skivvies, then stroke his bare chest as they kissed, then tease him by running her finger around the waistband of his boxers (beneath it, of course). Her heart pounded just thinking about it as she slid into bed and settled herself for sleep. Ginny sternly schooled herself to stop it, at least for now. With luck, she'd have a sexy dream about him…and _definitely_ hoped he would have one about her!

_Six months later – May 1999_

If there was one thing that Harry knew for sure, it was that he would never forget a moment of the day of the Final Battle, especially the point when Ginny had been killed by Bellatrix. The two had been fighting while he had been fighting Voldemort, and he didn't return to her until after he had vanquished the Dark Lord. Unfortunately, it was just a moment too late to save her. A moment that separated them forever.

Their family and friends were all holding onto each other, burying their faces in one another's shoulders or chests, except for Ron and Hermione. He had never seen Ron cry before in his life, but this time he was. Because of their closeness in age, Ron had always been the closest to Ginny emotionally, and he was now crying silently but brokenheartedly as he held his sister's limp, battered body in his arms.

It was fortunate that Hermione had managed to kill off the evil witch, a devout follower of Voldemort; otherwise Harry would have gladly done it himself. "What happened, 'Mione?" he asked as he approached them.

"Bellatrix," was all Hermione could get out, but it was enough. Harry felt murderous anger on top of his grief, but Hermione managed to say, "She's dead, Harry. I got her," even as he knelt down to take Ginny from Ron. It wasn't easy to get her away from him, but he finally managed with Hermione's help.

For a long time, Harry sat there, Ginny's body in his arms, his face buried in her glorious, still-fragrant hair even as he quietly sobbed. Her body was still warm, but she wasn't breathing, nor was there any pulse. It couldn't have happened too long ago, but it was still far too late. She was gone forever. He cried silently for a long time—then laid her down, stood up and threw his head back, giving a supersonic-ally high scream of anguish, deafening to anyone who had similar hearing to his own, such as Remus and Sirius, and it all but deafened _them_. Other animals scattered, owls taking wing, cats fleeing…

He then shot into the air, still sobbing, moving faster than anyone had ever seen him move. Within less than an eye-blink, he was gone. He pressed himself to his limits upon reaching Earth's outer atmosphere, on the fringes of outer space, and flew counterclockwise around the planet. In so doing, he reversed time so that the outcome of the battle could be changed. Upon accomplishing his objective, he stopped the world for a split second, then restarted it forward by again pushing himself to his limit, this time clockwise.

As he flew, he could hear both his fathers' voices echoing in his head: "You are forbidden to interfere with human history," and "Son, you are here for a reason." He didn't know what was happening on the planet, nor did he care. All he knew was that Ginny was gone. The mere thought was unbearable. At this point he didn't care a hippogriff's arse for what might happen if he turned back time; all that mattered was getting Ginny back. If he didn't "interfere," she would be gone forever. He would gladly take any risks in order to have her again…alive, well and loving him.

By the time Harry returned, he saw that the battle was still going on, but this time it was Molly Weasley who was facing Bellatrix, who had her wand pointed threat-eningly at Ginny. Even as he watched, Molly called out, "You are never going to hurt any more of my children, you bloody bitch! Not ever again!" A spell shot out from her wand and struck Bellatrix right in the heart even as she cackled evilly and opened her mouth to recite the _Avada Kedavra_. The spell cut her off in mid-cackle; she stiffened and then crumpled to the floor, quite dead.

Once it hit everyone that the female Death Eater was really dead, they all ran to Molly and hugged her, Ginny being the first, all talking at once. Molly extricated herself and ordered everyone to back off. A short time later Ginny wandered over into Harry's vicinity; he called softly to her. She raised her head and smiled as she approached him.

"Harry, where did you go?" she asked. "'Mione said you took off somewhere after you killed Voldemort."

"I'll tell you later," he promised. "Right now, just let me hold you."

She smiled again and walked into his arms. Harry held her close, breathing deeply the scent of her hair and her perfume, feeling the warmth of her body and her arms around him. He was glad to have "interfered" now; all that mattered to him was that Ginny was alive again and in his arms. He could never regret that for as long as he lived. Nor would anyone ever miss that hour he had erased. He kissed her deeply, sweetly, gratefully, savoring every moment of the taste of her lips. All sense of what was still going on around them faded; all he was aware of—all he cared to know—was Ginny close to him. Time enough to come back to earth once he had satisfied himself that he was not going to lose her again.

Not for a long, long time.


End file.
